Editing Liepāja (section)

=== Russian Empire ===
[[File:The Emigrants’ House of the Russian-American Line of the Russian East-Asian Steamship Company in Liepāja.jpg|thumb|left|The Emigrants' House of the Russian East-Asian Steamship Company. About 500,000 people from the Russian Empire emigrated to the United States through Liepāja.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Žemaitis |first1=Augustinas |title=History of Liepāja |url=https://www.onlatvia.com/history-of-liepaja-593 |website=OnLatvia.com |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref>]]
Courland passed to the control of the [[Russian Empire]] in 1795 during the [[Third Partition of Poland]] and was organized as the [[Courland Governorate]] of Russia. Growth during the nineteenth century was rapid. During the [[Crimean War]], when the British [[Royal Navy]] was blockading Russian Baltic ports, the busy yet still unfortified port of Libau was [[Arthur Cumming (Royal Navy officer)#Crimean War|briefly captured]] on 17 May 1854 without a shot being fired, by a landing party of 110 men from HMS ''Conflict'' and HMS ''Amphion''.<ref name="amphion"/>

In 1857, an Imperial Decree provided for a new railway to Libau.<ref>Palmer, Alan, ''Northern Shores'', London, 2005, p.215.</ref> That year the engineer [[Jan Heidatel]] developed a project to reconstruct the port. In 1861–1868 the project was realized – including the building of a [[Liepāja Lighthouse|lighthouse]] and breakwaters. Between 1877 and 1882 the political and literary weekly newspaper ''Liepājas Pastnieks'' was published – the first [[Latvian language]] newspaper in Libau.<ref name="liepajasp"/> In the 1870s the further rapid development of Russian [[railways]], especially the 1871 opening of the Libava-[[Kaunas]] and the 1876 [[Liepāja–Romny Railway]]s, ensured that a large proportion of central Russian trade passed through Libau.<ref name="BE1"/> By 1900, 7% of Russian exports were passing through Libau. The city became a major port of the Russian Empire on the Baltic Sea, as well as a popular resort. During this time of economic expansion, the city architect [[Paul Max Bertschy]] provided the design for many of the city's both public and private buildings, making an imprint on the architecture which can still be seen today.<ref name=daugavpils>{{cite web |url= https://www.visitdaugavpils.lv/en/personibas/pauls-makss-berci/|title= Paul Max Bertschy|author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher= Visit Daugavpils|access-date= 19 July 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Liepajastramvajs 1.jpg|thumb|Electric [[tram]] in Liepāja, circa 1900]]
On the orders of [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]], Libau was fortified against possible German attacks. [[Libava fortress|Fortifications]] were subsequently built around the city, and in the early 20th century, a major military base was established on the northern edge. It included formidable coastal fortifications and extensive quarters for military personnel. As part of the military development, a separate port was excavated exclusively for military use. This area became known as [[Karosta|Kara Osta]] (War Port) and served military needs throughout the twentieth century.

Early in the twentieth century, the port of Libau became a central point of embarkation for immigrants travelling to the United States and Canada. By 1906 the direct ship service to the United States was used by 40,000 migrants per year. Simultaneously, the first Russian training school of submarine navigation was founded. In 1912 one of the first water aerodromes in Russia was opened in Libau.<ref name="Gse1"/> In 1913, 1,738 ships entered Libau, with 1,548,119 tonnes of cargo passing through the port. The population had increased from 10,000 to over 100,000 within about 60 years.